Banner Night: Pride Blank Whale in Opener
Image via Michelle Jay
Folks; banner number three is up and glorious.
Yes, after quite the offseason wait, the Boston Pride took to the ice for their season and home opener. Similar to seasons past, it would be a rematch of the Isobel Cup Final. Following in the footsteps of 2021 and 2022, it did not disappoint. Let’s break it down.
Prior to puck drop, players from the 2022 Isobel Cup team posed in front of black curtain, pulled away to reveal the banner. Pride-turned-Whale defender Malory Souliotis would join her former teammates at the unveiling, similar to Turnquist and Laing last season. Then it was time for hockey.
Period one was quiet. A feeling out process for both teams, that heavily favored Connecticut. The Whale handled the puck in the Pride zone significantly. While it may have been almost evenly timed, the Whale were proficiently effective. However, they would meet one of the Pride’s newest toys: Corinne Schroeder. Schroeder stopped puck after puck from a Whale squad whose preseason made them seem unstoppable. Period one ended scoreless.
Onto the second, things got spicy. Boston came roaring into the period and ultimately it was Elizabeth Giguere who notched the first goal of the season for the Pride. With her PHF first out of the way, things got physical. Connecticut remained dominant in the scoring zone to only be stopped by Corinne Schroeder. Short-handed saves, saves on her own team’s power-plays, against MVP winners and Newcomers of the Year. The second ended after some strange penalties with the Pride up 1-0.
Now comes period three, The second ended with a Pride penalty giving the Whale an advantage to start the third. Schroeder didn’t seem bothered. With Fratty out of the box, Loren Gabel joined the fun with her first in the PHF. While Paul Baker was announcing Gabel’s goal, Allie Thundstrom joined in on the fun and notched her first with The Pack. Another power play sent a goal home for Gabel and time wound down on the period. However, the Whale didn’t give up and put great shots on Corinne Schroeder before the final whistle. Schroeder stood her ground in the final minute and pulled out the shutout.
Win #1 in the books.
Main takeaways from this game are this: The Whale have a lot of fight in them and are primed Cup contenders still. They never gave in whatsoever and kept trying to get back in the game. Their strategy will work and it will be scary to watch. Corinne Schroeder stole the show. Her PHF debut was one for the history books as she joins a list of elite Pride Goaltenders. Watch her this season because tonight she proved she was the real deal. Gabel is a strong case for Newcomer of the Year and will be on watch all season. She could put up MVP numbers if she keeps this pace. And Finally Taylor Wenczkowski is on another MVP caliber season not-so-quietly notching two assists in the game.
The Pride are scary and are off to the right start against a great opponent. What Metropolitan brings will be a great test for this team. It’s still early and the Whale, Pride, and every other team still have a chance to be get better.
If you want more analysis of the game you can playback the Season 2 premiere of “Tonight in the PHF” and hear myself and Sam Fryman break down this game, the Pride, and Corinne Schroeder in depth at twitch.tv/pridediehards.
Let’s threepeat, folks.
